A child in Rwanda enjoys a book donated through LuDela’s Better Light, Better Lives mission.

When I started Cascade Cadence Content Marketing, one of my goals was to work with people and organizations I respect, people and organizations that share my values and give back to causes in which I believe.

In line with those goals, I’m very proud to be working with LuDela Candles, a B-Corp that:

…uses business for good, and meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. For every candle sold, LuDela donates a book to help build libraries in underserved communities, creating the foundation for a movement of literacy around the world.

LuDela’s high-tech Perfect Pillar candle is an inspiring innovation in and of itself, but it’s the story behind it that makes LuDela unique. Founder Jamie Bianchini—an entrepreneur whose enthusiasm for his product and mission is contagious, and who signs his emails with, “Big Hugs!”—spent years of his 30s traveling the world by tandem bike, picking up strangers in need of a lift along the way. As told on the BendTECH blog:

The LuDela Perfect Pillar candle. Image courtesy of LuDela.

Moved by the generosity and love of the people he met, Jamie began to seek opportunities to give back, and to reduce the suffering and increase happiness in the communities that embraced him. With the support of his sponsors, Jamie distributed malaria medication in Zambia, helped create a clean water source in a small village in Bolivia, and, after being inspired by his friend Innocent—who met and rode with him in Uganda, and told Jamie of his community’s need for books and opportunities for fundamental education—he helped to build and find the funding for a school for Ugandan AIDS orphans and the needy.

Jamie’s epiphany moment came after he narrowly avoided disaster after falling asleep in a candle-lit room in a guest house in West Africa. He awoke to a candle fire, which he was able to extinguish with his boxer shorts, and spent the following days dreaming up ideas for a safer, more convenient candle. Musing on this idea while he rode his bike, Jamie eventually came up with the idea of the LuDela Perfect Pillar, a high-tech, real-flame candle. And for every candle sold, LuDela helps to build libraries in underserved communities, creating the foundation for a movement of literacy around the world.

The LuDela Perfect Pillar candle is a real-flame candle that can be lit via remote control and extinguished with the touch of a button. These candles snuff themselves out after a predetermined amount of time, or if they are accidentally knocked over. They never melt down, always looking beautiful and new, and can have their scent customized to your preference.

The LuDela Perfect Pillar candle is now in stock and available for holiday shopping at ludela.com